Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Project lifecycle management'

The last twenty years has seen a tremendous change in the way companies do business. Much of this change can be attributed to the so-called information revolution. The integrated interaction between Information Technology (IT) and business processes has changed from its initial function of automating clerical tasks (e.g. payroll, inventory) to providing pertinent information for operational, managerial and executive groups within the organisation. In more recent times, IT has enabled some organisations, including those in the construction industry, to transform or re-engineer their business processes in the face of the rapidly changing business environment. As international competition continues to intensify, significant numbers of construction organisations are investing large amounts of resources into IT as they seek to gain competitive advantage. IT is increasingly being implemented for strategic reasons, so as to enable improved efficiency, better control and enhanced productivity of internal processes. The failure of realising expected IT-induced benefits has led to a growing number of senior executives to question the value of IT investments. Thus, questions like the following are typical: Are we getting our money's worth from our IT investment? ; Are we spending too much or too little on IT? ; What IT projects make the best use of our resources? ; How can we improve the return on our IT investments? This Ph.D. research study was inspired by the perceived lack of a structured framework for the selection, implementation and performance evaluation of IT projects in construction. The development of such a generic framework that could capture the IT project lifecycle management process, and the associated guidelines and procedures for its effective implementation, is a young field of research, still struggling to define its place within the large family of academic disciplines. Being a young branch of science, it might be argued that IT in construction lacks a solid methodological foundation. An IT project lifecycle management process is an integrated approach that provides for the continuous identification, selection, implementation, monitoring and performance evaluation of IT projects. This structured process should provide a systematic method for construction organisations to minimise risks while maximising returns on IT investments. To effectively employ IT in construction, the IT project lifecycle management process should have elements of three essential phases: (1) IT project(s) selection; (2) strategic IT implementation and monitoring; and (3) IT performance evaluation. However, each phase should not be viewed as a separate step. Rather, each is conducted as part of a continuous, interdependent management effort. Information gained from one phase is used to support activities in each of the other two phases. With this in mind, this research study aimed to develop an appropriate framework and associated tools for each phase of the IT project lifecycle. The developed three frameworks are detailed individually in the following paragraphs. The developed IT project(s) selection framework utilised information economics theory to encompass the full spectrum of direct and indirect costs, tangible and intangible expected benefits and the intangible risks associated with IT project proposals, considered for funding by the organisation. To incorporate the uncertainty that normally surrounds quantifying costs, benefits and risks, the framework employed a simple but powerful fuzzy logic technique to integrate all the monetary and non-monetary factors into a form that enabled the ranking of proposals. A case study was undertaken with a large international project management and development organisation to demonstrate the framework's applicability. The case study illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach for ranking IT project proposals. Once a portfolio of IT projects is selected for funding by the organisation, it needs to be strategically implemented and monitored over its lifecycle. A strategic IT implementation and monitoring framework was developed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of this phase. The framework is premised on a hybrid analysis utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SWOT analysis. A case study was undertaken to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework in the strategic implementation and monitoring of a Project Management Information System (PMIS) by a large Australian construction-contracting organisation. The framework application proved to be successful in helping the organisation to develop appropriate strategies for the effective and efficient implementation of the PMIS. An IT performance evaluation framework and method was then developed for the final phase of the lifecycle. This framework was the primary focus of this Ph.D. research study and was structured using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) principles adapted to the specific requirements of the construction industry. The framework was structured using a hierarchy of IT performance perspectives, indicators and measures. Five definable perspectives were conceptually developed through analysis and synthesis of the 'IT business value' evaluation literature. These are: operational, benefits, technology/system, strategic competitiveness and user orientation. Indicators and measures were extracted from the mainstream IT literature and construction management literature, as well as the emerging literature on information economics. The preliminary list of indicators was initially screened through consultation with construction professionals and conceptual cause-and-effect mapping. The screened list of project-tier indicators was further refined through questionnaire dissemination. The questionnaire was sent to 322 construction project participants from large construction-contracting and project management organisations located within Australia. The five framework perspectives were statistically validated through the principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation. Each perspective and indicator's relative weight was numerically established using the questionnaire survey results as input to the recently developed Performance Measurement Process Framework (PMPF). The reason that the performance measures were not justified through a quantitative analysis was due to their dynamic nature. Most performance measures change, and will continue to change, with new technology. The developed perspectives, indicators and measures were all compiled into a generic 'Construct IT' BSC that can serve as a template for application at other decision-making tiers of a construction organisation. The problem of combining performance measures, with varying metrics, into commensurable units (utiles) was achieved by applying utility theory. Finally, the developed 'Construct IT' BSC was utilised for a project-tier survey to test the interrelationship between framework indicators and perspectives. Using information collected from 82 project professionals, from large construction-contracting and project management organisations, correlation and independent sample t-tests (one-tailed) provided support for the 'Construct IT' BSC. Specifically, findings suggest that the 'Construct IT' BSC can be used as a tool for monitoring the IT-induced value creation process. In addition, it appears that the proposed 'Construct IT' BSC framework and associated performance evaluation method is both flexible in design and can be modified to suit the needs of individual organisations. These characteristics make the framework continuously relevant to the dynamic nature of IT projects. In summary, the proposed IT project lifecycle management process, and its associated frameworks, provides a holistic view of IT implementation in construction and offers significant contributions to current body of knowledge on IT in construction.

The last twenty years has seen a tremendous change in the way companies do business. Much of this change can be attributed to the so-called information revolution. The integrated interaction between Information Technology (IT) and business processes has changed from its initial function of automating clerical tasks (e.g. payroll, inventory) to providing pertinent information for operational, managerial and executive groups within the organisation. In more recent times, IT has enabled some organisations, including those in the construction industry, to transform or re-engineer their business processes in the face of the rapidly changing business environment. As international competition continues to intensify, significant numbers of construction organisations are investing large amounts of resources into IT as they seek to gain competitive advantage. IT is increasingly being implemented for strategic reasons, so as to enable improved efficiency, better control and enhanced productivity of internal processes. The failure of realising expected IT-induced benefits has led to a growing number of senior executives to question the value of IT investments. Thus, questions like the following are typical: Are we getting our money's worth from our IT investment? ; Are we spending too much or too little on IT? ; What IT projects make the best use of our resources? ; How can we improve the return on our IT investments? This Ph.D. research study was inspired by the perceived lack of a structured framework for the selection, implementation and performance evaluation of IT projects in construction. The development of such a generic framework that could capture the IT project lifecycle management process, and the associated guidelines and procedures for its effective implementation, is a young field of research, still struggling to define its place within the large family of academic disciplines. Being a young branch of science, it might be argued that IT in construction lacks a solid methodological foundation. An IT project lifecycle management process is an integrated approach that provides for the continuous identification, selection, implementation, monitoring and performance evaluation of IT projects. This structured process should provide a systematic method for construction organisations to minimise risks while maximising returns on IT investments. To effectively employ IT in construction, the IT project lifecycle management process should have elements of three essential phases: (1) IT project(s) selection; (2) strategic IT implementation and monitoring; and (3) IT performance evaluation. However, each phase should not be viewed as a separate step. Rather, each is conducted as part of a continuous, interdependent management effort. Information gained from one phase is used to support activities in each of the other two phases. With this in mind, this research study aimed to develop an appropriate framework and associated tools for each phase of the IT project lifecycle. The developed three frameworks are detailed individually in the following paragraphs. The developed IT project(s) selection framework utilised information economics theory to encompass the full spectrum of direct and indirect costs, tangible and intangible expected benefits and the intangible risks associated with IT project proposals, considered for funding by the organisation. To incorporate the uncertainty that normally surrounds quantifying costs, benefits and risks, the framework employed a simple but powerful fuzzy logic technique to integrate all the monetary and non-monetary factors into a form that enabled the ranking of proposals. A case study was undertaken with a large international project management and development organisation to demonstrate the framework's applicability. The case study illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach for ranking IT project proposals. Once a portfolio of IT projects is selected for funding by the organisation, it needs to be strategically implemented and monitored over its lifecycle. A strategic IT implementation and monitoring framework was developed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of this phase. The framework is premised on a hybrid analysis utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SWOT analysis. A case study was undertaken to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework in the strategic implementation and monitoring of a Project Management Information System (PMIS) by a large Australian construction-contracting organisation. The framework application proved to be successful in helping the organisation to develop appropriate strategies for the effective and efficient implementation of the PMIS. An IT performance evaluation framework and method was then developed for the final phase of the lifecycle. This framework was the primary focus of this Ph.D. research study and was structured using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) principles adapted to the specific requirements of the construction industry. The framework was structured using a hierarchy of IT performance perspectives, indicators and measures. Five definable perspectives were conceptually developed through analysis and synthesis of the 'IT business value' evaluation literature. These are: operational, benefits, technology/system, strategic competitiveness and user orientation. Indicators and measures were extracted from the mainstream IT literature and construction management literature, as well as the emerging literature on information economics. The preliminary list of indicators was initially screened through consultation with construction professionals and conceptual cause-and-effect mapping. The screened list of project-tier indicators was further refined through questionnaire dissemination. The questionnaire was sent to 322 construction project participants from large construction-contracting and project management organisations located within Australia. The five framework perspectives were statistically validated through the principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation. Each perspective and indicator's relative weight was numerically established using the questionnaire survey results as input to the recently developed Performance Measurement Process Framework (PMPF). The reason that the performance measures were not justified through a quantitative analysis was due to their dynamic nature. Most performance measures change, and will continue to change, with new technology. The developed perspectives, indicators and measures were all compiled into a generic 'Construct IT' BSC that can serve as a template for application at other decision-making tiers of a construction organisation. The problem of combining performance measures, with varying metrics, into commensurable units (utiles) was achieved by applying utility theory. Finally, the developed 'Construct IT' BSC was utilised for a project-tier survey to test the interrelationship between framework indicators and perspectives. Using information collected from 82 project professionals, from large construction-contracting and project management organisations, correlation and independent sample t-tests (one-tailed) provided support for the 'Construct IT' BSC. Specifically, findings suggest that the 'Construct IT' BSC can be used as a tool for monitoring the IT-induced value creation process. In addition, it appears that the proposed 'Construct IT' BSC framework and associated performance evaluation method is both flexible in design and can be modified to suit the needs of individual organisations. These characteristics make the framework continuously relevant to the dynamic nature of IT projects. In summary, the proposed IT project lifecycle management process, and its associated frameworks, provides a holistic view of IT implementation in construction and offers significant contributions to current body of knowledge on IT in construction.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Engineering
Full Text

The diploma thesis deals with project management in Business Intelligence, a relatively new area of information systems. The first part of the thesis describes basic background of project management in general and some specifics of information systems project management. As one of the fundamental concepts, thinking about a project within its lifecycle is accented. The practical part examines the challenges of managing BI projects in a real financial institution in the Czech Republic. The aim of this section is to fill gaps in the existing project methodology of the financial institution by creating a mapping between the project lifecycle and processes of world-renowned PMBOK methodology.

The relationship between project management and procurement as an organisational function is often a clash of wills. The field of project management is ripe with stories of clashes between project managers and procurement officers who, for whatever reason do not work well together. There is no lack of literature on project failure and reasons why projects fail. Available literature concludes that successful projects are defined as those completed on time, within budget, and in ways that meet objectives. The biggest challenge to project managers is to mitigate risk in an environment filled with uncertainties. Marketplace forces such as unstable commodity markets and economic fluctuations are among the competitive forces experienced by project managers. Suppliers play an integral role within the project life cycle and therefore it is essential to ensure that the right suppliers are selected. The role of procurement has changed from functional to strategic and is no longer viewed as a backroom function, which converts requests into supplier orders. The main reason for the change is due to challenging factors such as globalisation, inflation, technological innovations, and fluctuations in exchange rates and commodity markets. Due to the large portion of expenditure spend by the procurement department within the organisation the savings on purchasing costs can have a substantial effect on the profitability of the organisation. Procurement savings initiatives are now far more visible on the agendas of senior management. Selection of the right suppliers is crucial for any organisation striving to achieve the business objectives of the organisation and meet the expectations of customers and shareholders. The procurement department apply certain tools and techniques to select, evaluate, and measure the performance of suppliers. Various tools and techniques are available, the focus of the study is on three of these tools and techniques namely: negotiations, material budgets, and the SESPA(Supplier Evaluation, Selection, and Performance Appraisal) process. According to the literature reviewed, a project life cycle can be broken down into four to five key phases namely: the conceptual, planning, execution, close out, and control phases and procurement process into five steps namely: define the requirements, select the supplier, produce an agreement, administer day-to-day activities, and assess the performance of suppliers. A comparison between the steps within the procurement process and the phases within the project management life cycle reveals commonality and the potential of benefits that the tools and techniques applied by procurement can contribute to the project life cycle. Thus the challenge to the procurement office is how to partner with the project management function in a manner that will positively impact on the project management life cycle and the project success. With these obstacles facing most organisations, it is time for procurement and project management to focus on cooperation instead of confrontation. Developing a culture that sees individual projects as elements of a business plan will require change. There is no lack of literature on resistance to change. Change is seldom easy and old ways die hard, even when there is wide agreement that change is needed. Therefore whatever the reason for change, it is essential for organisations to realise that successful implementation of change will require a systematic change implementation process.
Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vanderbijlpark Campus [i.e. Potchefstroom Campus], 2008.

il lavoro di tesi descrive innanzitutto il significato del Product Lifecycle Management e l'importanza del monitoraggio del prodotto. inoltre viene analizzato il ciclo di vita del prodotto ed è descritta la figura del Product Manager con le sue competenze e le attività principali che svolge in azienda. sono elencate e decritte inoltre le fasi del PLM pre e post lancio sul mercato con esemplificazioni. Inoltre viene descritta la storia e l'organigramma di Bosch Rexroth e i prodotti che l'azienda produce. Infine viene delineato il progetto Solenoid e le attività che un product manager della Bosch Rexroth ha il compito di eseguire e monitorare. seguono le conclusioni dell'elaborato con possibili sviluppi futuri.

This thesis describes the design and application of the methodology for project management of the Software Quality Assurance Competence Centre. In short theoretical introduction the thesis mentions the basic concepts associated with project management, including several examples of methodologies for project management. Then the thesis introduces the concept of Competence Centers at the University of Economics, Prague and identifies the specifics of the SQA Competence Centre's projects, or the specifics of managing these projects. Theses specific serve as a basis for design of the methodology for project management of the SQA Competence Centre, which consists of seven dimensions that cover various areas of project management. A crucial part of this methodology can be considered a project lifecycle model and process model of project management of the SQA Competence Centre. The methodology is then applied to the project management of the Integrated Testing Tools. Application of the designed methodology made this project and its management more transparent and efficient. This usage of the methodology also highlighted the importance of project manager's ability to motivate project team members. The main outcome of the thesis is designed and proven methodology for project management of the SQA Competence Centre with possible application in projects other Competence Centers operating at universities.

The Standish Group Study of 1994 showed that 53 percent of software projects failed outright and another 31 percent were challenged by extreme budget and/or time overrun. Since then different responses to the high rate of software project failures have been proposed. SEI’s CMMI, the ISO’s 9001:2000 for software development, and the IEEE’s JSTD-016 are some examples of such responses. Traceability is the one common feature that these software development standards impose. Over the last decade, software and system engineering communities have been researching subjects such as developing more sophisticated tooling, applying information retrieval techniques capable of semi-automating the trace creation and maintenance process, developing new trace query languages and visualization techniques that use trace links, applying traceability in specific domains such as Model Driven Development, product line systems and agile project environment. These efforts have not been in vain. The 2012 CHAOS results show an increase in project success rate of 39% (delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions), and a decrease of 18% in the number of failures (cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used). Since research has shown traceability can improve a project’s success rate, the main purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate traceability for a small, real-world software development project using IBM Collaborative Lifecycle Management. The objective of this research was fulfilled since the case study of traceability was described in detail as applied to the design and development of the Value Adjustment Board Project (VAB) of City of Jacksonville using the scrum development approach within the IBM Rational Collaborative Lifecycle Management Solution. The results may benefit researchers and practitioners who are looking for evidence to use the IBM CLM solution to trace artifacts in a small project.

This thesis focuses on the topic of program management, its functioning and the emergence in the context of project management. The goal is to process standards and methodologies for working with programs to reveal their differences and the reasons that lead to their formation. Particular attention is given to compare the life cycles of the program two major commercial standards and subsequently with the approach of government. The differences in the functioning government and the private sector are one of the main axes of the whole work, and every part of this work pays attention to them. The work seeks to illuminate the principles of the program management and on selected examples demonstrate the functioning of different approaches. In the final section, on the basis of these differences defines the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and tries to suggest the possibility of taking advantage by sharing of approach to strengthening of the opposite one.

One of objectives of practical part of the thesis is to perform an analysis of current state of project management in selected organization. Based on its specific environment and identified opportunities for improvement it follows up with formalization of recommended design and way of implementation of alternative approach for project management which uses appropriate agile elements but also reflects specific needs and limits of the organization. In its theoretical part the thesis describes basic terminology related to management of projects and portfolios, selected models of project lifecycle, popular standards and methods of traditional project management, core philosophy of agile and selected practices of agile project management.

Project managers must ensure risk management and business justification for their projects. Approximately, 53% of IT projects failed due to project managers not identifying risks early in the projects' lifecycle. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies IT project managers utilize to identify risks early in the project's lifecycle. The study population consisted of 5 lead IT project managers from a telecom company located in the Midwest region of the United States who had managed IT projects. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the general systems theory. The data collection process involved semistructured interviews, a review of public documents, and member checking interviews to verify the authenticity of the participants' information. The data analysis process included the methodological triangulation, through interviewing and reviewing documents as well as using Yin's 5-step process for analyzing data to identify codes and themes. After the data analysis, the themes that emerged were self-development tools and risk identification (inputs, project tools and techniques, and output). The findings indicated it is crucial that the project team and all stakeholders who have an interest in the project continuously address risk management throughout the project's lifecycle. The implications for positive social change may help individuals understand risks better, interpret situations, and prevention of risk, which are essential to encourage economic inclusion, social protection, and environmental building.

‘Project performance’ is the metric of delivering project objectives. This research is motivated by levels of project failure and the purpose of the research is to investigate improved project performance. The scientific spectrum is considered; arguing project management as a sub-field of management science based in ‘design science’. Despite research since the 1950s, there is no established community paradigm for project management, illustrated by multiple ‘schools of thought’ failing to stimulate performance improvement. This is investigated with respect to the changing nature of projects and their management; application in numerous industrial sectors, across increasing scope of the product lifecycle (including service projects), and the changing role of project managers as value adding ‘implementers’ rather than status ‘reporters’. Methodology examines the community paradigm and identifies the lack of community paradigm and argues that gap spotting is not appropriate. Conducting research that fills knowledge gaps does not identify underlying issues and reinforces fundamental failings. Underlying assumptions are identified and challenged. Key characteristics are examined in the context of requirements of the community paradigm. The purpose of theory is to describe, explain and predict. Some techniques describe and explain. Few, if any, predict. This locates ‘performance prediction’ as the research issue and suggests it is a missing function for performance improvement. The research focus considers single tasks within a project network. A research model of early stage deviation from plan is developed from the literature on project pathogens and incubation processes. ‘Deviation lifecycle’ as a project function is identified as having no previous evidence in literature. This is developed into a practice model extending the role of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and integrating weak signals and tipping point theory to test performance. Case studies examine representative application of the model and build on the previous cases to illustrate potential for practice. The case studies were reviewed by industrial experts. The changing role of project managers to value added implementers implies a need to improve performance. Research found potential to understand and predict early stage deviation and develops the deviation lifecycle and research model. Across the case studies the research model illustrated potential application. Practical implications indicate potential contribution of project management techniques based on prediction rather than traditional reporting. Developing the community paradigm based on design science is discussed as further work. The originality of the research challenges the lack of theoretical foundation for project management by discussion of the community paradigm and proposes design science as a candidate. The work identifies ‘prediction’ as a relevant but missing function from the project management ‘toolbox’, and introduces the concept of the deviation lifecycle and note no previous literature. The research develops an industrial research model that extends the application of FMEA to examine ‘performance’ and integrates weak signals and tipping point analysis to manage the resolution.

Presented master thesis deals with project management. Thesis describes in detail methods used for project management and the project management life cycle. The aim of this thesis is in innovation of project methodology in company Pontech s.r.o. In written down methodology are described processes occurring in all phases of managing projects, which are important for effectiveness.

This diploma thesis is focused on the analysis and description of the development market in the Czech Republic. The thesis describes the specific activities leading to the development project in all its phases, presents the project risks and defines the security and specifications of the development projects. The analysis is focused on commercial office projects and it is formed in three successive levels, at the level of the Czech Republic, at the level of the analysis of the Prague and Brno markets, to a specific analysis of the selected project.

Goal of the thesis is a detail description of the project methodology within the Telecommunication Company and pointing out the differences between current existing methodology and methodology standards. The thesis is not just simple description of the project methodology but addition to that it tries to (in given time & material framework) design new solutions for the project process optimalization. The aim of the proposed solutions is to increase competitiveness of the company on the market in current dynamic environment. Thesis has two main parts, theoretical and practical one. Theoretic part deals with general project methodologies and compares theirs main features and characteristics. One of the chapters is also describing Six Sigma process methodology, that will play a major role in the practical part of the thesis. In practical part, first of all I am introducing the company Vodafone Czech republic which allowed me the creation of the diploma thesis. Following chapter is focused on existing project methodology, project life-cycle and tools that the company uses in day-to-day practice. Next chapter deals with the detail analysis of the project process and by using of real samples of the company projects I try to find the optimalization of the project process in order to speed up the time to market and thus provide faster reaction to the market conditions and needs. Final chapter provides a summary and conclusion of the work done. Benefits of the diploma thesis should be following: 1)Detail mapping of the project methodology in mobile operator environment 2)Analysis of the current existing project process and project lifecycle 3)Possibility to get greater knowledge about the work of the Project management office 4)Design a possible solution that would help to increase competitiveness on the market

Un appel d'offres (AO) est une procédure qui permet au maître d'ouvrage (MOA) de faire le choix du prestataire ou maître d'œuvre (MOE) à qui il confiera une réalisation de travaux, fournitures ou services. Cette pratique, incontournable pour quasiment tous les secteurs professionnels, repose sur la mise en concurrence de prestataires potentiels vis-à-vis d'une demande client. Chaque répondant engage des ressources et du temps pour élaborer des propositions qui ne seront pas toujours retenues. Le processus de réponse à appel d'offres (PRAO) est fortement contraint car, pour être acceptées, les propositions doivent satisfaire aux exigences du Cahier des Charges (CdC) tout en restant économiquement viables pour le prestataire. Le PRAO est une pratique risquée. De façon générale, le premier niveau de risque est de ne pas répondre à l'AO et d'écarter un projet intéressant sur le plan technique et/ou économique ; ensuite, si la décision a été de répondre, un deuxième risque est de ne pas être accepté par le client ; enfin, en cas d'acceptation, si la proposition a été mal élaborée à cause d'une appréciation incorrecte par le prestataire des difficultés sous-tendues par la réalisation, celui-ci peut s'engager dans un processus très pénalisant (dépassements de budgets, non conformités aux exigences techniques, non-respect des délais,…). Afin de minimiser ces risques, nous proposons dans ce travail une amélioration du processus de réponse à appel d'offres (PRAO) par la mise en place d'une instrumentation renforçant ce processus et la définition d'une méthodologie de conduite adaptée. L'objectif est de fournir au MOE des outils d'aide à la décision pour détecter, rendre compte et minimiser les risques potentiels. La démarche consiste à adosser au PRAO un système de retour d'expérience, portant sur les PRAO passés et sur les cycles de développement associés, couplé à une démarche structurée de gestion des risques afin d'offrir au soumissionnaire les appuis nécessaires à la construction d‘une réponse « robuste » à l'AO. Cette instrumentation du cadre de travail du souscripteur et la proposition de conduite associée forment le socle de la méthodologie BiPRiM (Bidding Process Risk Management) que nous avons développée. Nous proposons dans celle-ci la mise en œuvre pratique des modèles de risques et d'expériences PRAO que nous avons développés ; nous nous appuyons sur les mécanismes d'acquisition, de traitement et d'exploitation du système de retour d'expérience sous-jacent pour conduire le processus de gestion des risques PRAO et, en élargissant, le processus décisionnel qui supporte le PRAO
Call for tenders is a procedure that allows a client company to choose the provider of works, supplies or services. This practice is essential for almost all industry sectors and is based on the competition of potential providers according to a client request. Each bidder commits ressources and time to develop proposals that will not always be accepted. Bidding Process (BP) is highly constrained because, to be accepted, proposals must meet the client requirements while remaining economically viable for the provider. BP is a risky practice. In general, the first risk level is related to the choice of not responding to a call for tenders whereas it was an opportunity (i.e. an interesting project on technical and/or economic terms). Then, if the decision was to respond, a second risk level is not to be accepted by the client; finally, when the tender is accepted, a third risk level is related to the proposal realization potential problems. Indeed, if the related offer was poorly developed, due to an incorrect assessment by the bidder of the difficulties of the underlying realization, the bidder can be engaged in a very penalizing process (overruns, non-compliance of technical requirements, non-compliance of deadlines...). In order to minimize these risks, an improvement of BP has been proposed by setting up an instrumentation reinforcing this process and by the definition of a methodology for its appropriate management. The objective is therefore to provide to the bidder decision support tools to detect, report and minimize potential risks. The approach consists in the integration to the BP of an experience feedback system involving past bidding processes and associated development cycles, coupled with a structured approach of risk management to provide to the bidder the necessary support for the development of a "robust" response to new calls for tenders. This proposed bidder decision support system instrumentation and the associated management process establish the basis of the BiPRiM methodology (Bidding Process Risk Management) that was developed. In this development, a practical implementation of risk models and BP experiences has been developed. It rests upon the mechanisms of acquisition, processing and exploitation of the underlying experience feedback system in order to conduct the risk management process in the BP while broadening the associated decision-making process

In recent years, customers demand for new products has increased in line with a rapid technological change. This has put pressure on industrial companies regarding New Product Development (NPD) in order to continuously develop and produce products at or above the customers’ expectations. Furthermore, products need to be profitable throughout the whole product lifecycle.In order to consider the whole product lifecycle in NPD, inputs with information, as well as, involvement from/of downstream functions are considered as two critical factors to ensure that profitable products are developed. Information from other functions with a wide range of perspectives, knowledge and experiences from previous products are vital.This thesis uses the above mentioned notion while examining a large multinational company, Company X. Product Development in the Company X Group follows the Gateway process which was released group-wide in 2009. This process consists of gateways which cannot be passed if not all requirements are satisfied in each step. This ensures that all areas are covered and that products are developed in an effective matter.Interviews, observations and archive analysis are methods utilized to define the current state at CXDY. The current workways and processes are compared to the outspoken ones by the company. Also, the workways and processes are compared to the theory of project management, product development, Design for X methodology and management of knowledge. In the analysis, gaps are identified and the authors present their solutions to improve the NPD process at the Company XThe major findings in the proposed solution were a new approach of the Gateway process that; takes the Internal Customer into consideration, has clear definitions of roles and responsibilities and has a cross-functional team that represent the Internal Customer in order to encourage concurrent engineering.Due to confidentiality reasons some parts of this report are hidden.Keywords: New product development, Project management, Product Lifecycle, Concurrent engineering, Design for X, Management of knowledge.
Under senare år har kundernas efterfrågan på nya produkter ökat i takt med en snabb teknologisk utveckling. Detta har ställt krav på tillverkande företag att fokusera på produktutvecklingprojekt för att kontinuerligt leverera produkter som uppnår eller överträffar kunders förväntningar. Vidare måste produkterna vara lönsamma genom hela produktlivscykeln.För att kunna beakta hela produktlivscykeln i produktutvecklingsprojekt anses input med information och involvering från/av nedströmsfunktioner vara två kritiska faktorer för att säkerställa att lönsamma produkter utvecklas. I detta är informationen från andra funktioner med olika perspektiv, kunskaper och erfarenheter från tidigare produkter avgörande.Denna avhandling behandlar ovanstående tankar när ett stort multinationellt företag, Företag X. Produktutveckling i Företag X-koncernen följer Gateway-processen som släpptes på grupp-nivå under 2009. Denna process består av Gateways som inte kan godkännas om inte alla krav är uppfyllda i varje steg. Detta säkerställer att alla områden har behandlats och att produkter utvecklas effektivt.Intervjuer, observationer och arkivanalys är metoder som applicerats för att definiera det aktuella läget vid CXDY. De nuvarande arbetssätten och processerna jämförs med företagets uttalade. Arbetssätten och processerna jämförs vidare med teorin om projektledning, produktutveckling, Design för X-metodik och kunskapsförvaltning. I analysen identifieras luckor och författarna presenterar sina lösningar för att förbättra produktutvecklingsprojekten på CXDY.De viktigaste resultaten i den föreslagna lösningen var ett nytt tillvägagångssätt av Gateway-processen som; tar hänsyn till interna kunder, har tydliga definitioner av roller och ansvar och har ett tvärfunktionellt team som representerar den interna kunden för att främja Concurrent engineering.På grund av sekretesskäl har vissa delar av denna rapport gömts.Nyckelord: Produktutveckling, Projektledning, Produktlivscykel, Concurrent engineering, Design för X, Kunskapsförvaltning.

Due to their complexity, construction projects involve significant risks thatmust be managed in order to meet the main project objectives in terms of cost,time and quality. While some risks can be foreseen at the beginning of aproject and allocated among the project actors, other risks are difficult topredict. Moreover, even identified risks may change in scope and requiredifferent types of response. In order to manage such risks successfully,collaborative efforts among project actors are needed. This thesis focuses oncollaborative management of risks in construction projects – joint riskmanagement (JRM) – which is claimed to provide several advantages incomparison to separate risk management by each project actor. An overall aimis to increase the understanding of how JRM can be enhanced throughout aproject’s lifecycle.The underlying studies this thesis is based upon constitute a multiple case studyof nine construction projects, a questionnaire survey and a longitudinal casestudy of three construction projects. Empirical data were collected throughinterviews, observations of JRM workshops and document studies. Theempirical findings show that cooperative procurement procedures, organicmanagement systems and appropriate strategies for addressing agency-relatedproblems enhance JRM in construction projects. Thus they require thoroughconsideration when organizations intend to implement JRM.This thesis provides several contributions to risk management theory. Firstly,the author extends the definition of JRM by including its core componentstogether with associated activities and underlying factors. The extendeddefinition better reflects, and increases understanding of, the nature of JRM.Secondly, the research contributes to discussion of serious drawbacks related to traditional procurement practices by identifying and studying procurementvariables (project delivery method, form of payment and use of collaborationor partnering arrangements) that have a major influence on risk management.In addition, the results of questionnaire survey suggest that cooperativeprocurement procedures in general and collaborative activities in particular arepositively related to the use of JRM. Finally, by framing the empirical resultsin an organizational theory context this research identifies two sets of factorsthat strongly influence the implementation and effectiveness of JRM, related tomanagement system (organic vs. mechanistic), and strategy for responding toagency-related problems. By applying theory on mechanistic and organicorganization to RM, the study pinpoints the importance of managing tensionsbetween control and flexibility when implementing JRM. The author suggeststhat JRM requires a combination of formal tools (aimed at controllingidentified risks) and flexible strategies (aimed at responding to unforeseenevents). By investigating how strategies to handle agency-related problems canfoster collaborative relationships and JRM, this research contributes to RMliterature where few studies have discussed JRM from the perspective of theprincipal – agent relationships.
Godkänd; 2013; 20131205 (ekaosi); Tillkännagivande disputation 2014-01-07 Nedanstående person kommer att disputera för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen. Namn: Ekaterina Osipova Ämne: Byggproduktion/Construction Engineering Avhandling: On enhancing joint risk management throughout a project's lifecycle: Empirical studies of Swedish construction projects Opponent: Professor Stuart Green, Head of School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading, UK Ordförande: Biträdande professor Per-Erik Eriksson, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik och samhälle, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Fredag den 7 februari 2014, kl 10.00 Plats: F1031, Luleå tekniska universitet
Systematisk gemensam riskhantering i byggprojekt

Effective management of information about client requirements in construction projects lifecycle can contribute to high construction productivity; within budget and schedule, and improve the quality of built facilities and service delivery. Traditionally, requirements management has been focused at the early stages of the construction lifecycle process where elicited client requirements information is used as the basis for design. Management of client requirements does not extend to the later phases. Client requirements often evolve and change dramatically over a facility's life. Changing client requirements is one of the principal factors that contribute to delays and budget overruns of construction projects. This results in claims, disputes and client dissatisfaction. The problems of current requirements management process also include: lack of integrated and collaborative working with requirements; lack of integrated requirements information flow between the various heterogeneous systems used in the lifecycle processes, and between the multiple stakeholders; inefficient and ineffective coordination of changes within the lifecycle processes; manual checking of dependencies between changing requirements to facilitate assessment of cost and time impact of changes. The aim of the research is to specify a better approach to requirements information management to help construction organisations reduce operational cost and time in product development and service delivery; whilst increasing performance and productivity, and realising high quality of built facilities. In order to achieve the aim and the formulated objectives, firstly, a detailed review of literature on related work was conducted. Secondly, the research designed, developed and conducted three case studies to investigate the state-of-the-art of managing client requirements information. A combination of multiple data collection methods was applied which included observations, interviews, focus group and questionnaires. Following this, the data was analysed and problems were identified; the necessity for a lifecycle approach to managing the requirements information emerged. (Continues...).

This diploma theses deals with the challenges of a project management in a particular construction company that handles projects on daily basis. I focused on the analysis of a particular project in this company, that has been successfully implemented. This analysis served as a starting point for the designing of the changes, as well as a devising a tool that simplifies the set up of the changes into practice. Selected problem was solved by comparing the project management methodology in the project with the project management practices officially proposed in the literature. Tool design was carried out in the environment of Microsoft Excel. I managed to design a tool in which the shortcomings are treated the way that facilitates their implementation into practice, especially by using an easy environment and outputs well-arranged for the user. This tool is therefore mainly used to eliminate the identified shortcomings and thus to facilitate and simplify project management in practice.

La croissance du numérique au sein l'industrie de la construction conduit au BIM (Building Information Modeling). Inspiré du bâtiment, le BIM est adopté plus tard sur des projets d’infrastructure linéaire. Ces projets nécessitent une maitrise de bout en bout de la chaîne d’information. Le PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) favorise cette continuité numérique dans l’industrie manufacturière. Des études expérimentent une utilisation complémentaire des approches BIM et PLM pour ce type de projet. Adaptant des méthodes développées pour la construction de bâtiments, ces études se limitent à l’élaboration de référentiels de données. Cela rend difficile la gestion de l’infrastructure dans sa phase d’usage, où la maquette numérique doit devenir un jumeau numérique. Ces travaux consistent à développer une stratégie pour la conception, la mise en œuvre et l’exploitation d’une infrastructure linéaire. Cible de la démarche, le jumeau numérique intégrera non seulement BIM et PLM, mais aussi toute autre source d’information qui resitue l’infrastructure dans son environnement. Agrégateur de données, il devrait permettre d’assurer la gestion du cycle de vie d’une infrastructure linéaire. Ce système est éprouvé sur une infrastructure linéaire particulière, un passage à niveau. La continuité numérique et la traçabilité des données sont des facteurs importants pour un tel ouvrage. Notre proposition permet de suivre l’évolution de la donnée, et de lier des données d’exploitation aux données de conception et de construction de l’infrastructure
The digital growth of the construction industry led to BIM (Building Information Modeling). Developed for buildings, BIM is later used on linear infrastructure projects. Such projects require end-to-end control of information. PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) supports digital continuity in the manufacturing industry. Studies evaluate the relevance of a complementary use of the BIM and PLM approaches for linear infrastructure projects. With an adaptation of methods used for building construction, those studies are mostly restricted to the implementation of data repositories. This makes it difficult to consider the infrastructure post-construction phase, where the 3D model is no longer a digital model, but a digital twin. This research work consists in developing a strategy for the design, the implementation and the operations and maintenance of a linear infrastructure. The digital twin of the infrastructure is the target of our approach. It will take into consideration not only BIM and PLM methodologies, but also any other data source positioning the infrastructure in its geographical environment. Data aggregator, our digital twin should make it possible to manage the lifecycle of a linear infrastructure. This system is tested on a specific linear infrastructure, a level crossing. Digital continuity and data traceability are important factors for those constructions. Through the digital twin, our proposal helps to follow the data, and thus to link operational data to the design and construction data of the linear infrastructure

Biomass is projected to account for approximately half of the new energy production required to achieve the 2020 primary energy target in the UK. Combined heat and power (CHP) bioenergy systems are not only a highly efficient method of energy conversion, at smaller-scales a significant proportion of the heat produced can be effectively utilised for hot water, space heating or industrial heating purposes. However, there are many barriers to project development and this has greatly inhibited deployment in the UK. Project viability is highly subjective to changes in policy, regulation, the finance market and the low cost incumbent; a high carbon centralised energy system. Unidentified or unmitigated barriers occurring during the project lifecycle may not only negatively impact on the project but could ultimately lead to project failure. The research develops a decision support system (DSS) for small-scale (500 kWe to 10 MWe) biomass combustion CHP project development and risk management in the early stages of a potential project’s lifecycle. By supporting developers in the early stages of project development with financial, scheduling and risk management analysis, the research aims to reduce the barriers identified and streamline decision-making. A fuzzy methodology is also applied throughout the developed DSS to support developers in handling the uncertain or approximate information often held at the early stages of the project lifecycle. The DSS is applied to a case study of a recently failed (2011) small-scale biomass CHP project to demonstrate its applicability and benefits. The application highlights that the proposed development within the case study was not viable. Moreover, further analysis of the possible barriers with the DSS confirmed that some possible modifications to be project could have improved this, such as a possible change of feedstock to a waste or residue, addressing the unnecessary land lease cost or by increasing heat utilisation onsite. This analysis is further supported by a practitioner evaluation survey that confirms the research contribution and objectives are achieved.

Dans de grands projets tels qu'accélérateurs ou détecteurs de particules, les interfaces et les frontières se révèlent à la fois critiques et sous-estimées. Le manageur technique, acteur parmi les autres, se trouve placé à des nœuds de réseau où il doit mettre en œuvre des espaces d'échanges afin de susciter des conduites collaboratives. À partir d'études de cas issus du terrain du CERN, la thèse adopte trois principes issus de la littérature de la complexité, les principes dialogique,hologrammique et d'auto-éco-organisation. Elle propose une construction méthodologique matricielleoriginale menant à l'élaboration d'un modèle transactionnel de l'acteur d'interface.L'espace d'échanges collaboratif devient le lieu où se déploie la dynamique de transformation del'acteur d'interface en acteur-frontière. Les objets intermédiaires élaborés lors du processus deconception / intégration y sont simultanément transformés en objets frontières, qui sont mobiliséspour la réalisation du produit dans le cadre récursivement déterminé du projet. L'intérêt d'uneapproche globale et couplée de cette dynamique des espaces d'échanges conduit à proposer un"hypercompas" afin d'orienter "l'agir ↔ penser" du manageur technique.

abstract: The construction industry generates tremendous amounts of data every day. Data can inform practitioners to increase their project performance as well as the quality of the resulting built environment. The data gathered from each stage has unique characteristics, and processing them to the appropriate information is critical. However, it is often difficult to measure the impact of the research across project phases (i.e., planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, and end-of-life). The goal of this dissertation is to present how industry data can be used to make an impact on construction practices and test a suite of methods to measure the impact of construction research across project phases. The dissertation provides examples of impactful research studies for each project phase to demonstrate the collection and utilization of data generated from each stage and to assess the potential tangible impact on construction industry practices. The completed studies presented both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The first study focuses on the planning phase and provides a practice to improve frond end planning (FEP) implementation by developing the project definition rating index (PDRI) maturity and accuracy total rating system (MATRS). The second study uses earned value management system (EVMS) information from the design and construction phases to support reliable project control and management. The dissertation then provides a third study, this time focusing on the operations phase and comparing the impact of project delivery methods using the international roughness index (IRI). Lastly, the end-of-life or decommissioning phase is tackled through a study that gauges the monetary impact of the circular economy concept applied to reuse construction and demolition (C&D) waste. This dissertation measures the impact of the research according to the knowledge mobilization (KMb) theory, which illustrates the value of the work to the public and to practitioners.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering 2020

Porque falham os projetos? O sucesso do projeto mede-se não somente pelo objetivo atingido, mas também pelo cumprimento de outras variáveis tais como prazo e orçamento. Uma construção adequada da gestão de projetos constrói-se a partir da execução de um conjunto de processos devidamente sistematizados e integrados entre si durante o ciclo de vida de um projeto, o que implica ter profundo conhecimento dos fatores críticos para a sua execução. Com base em questionário efetuado que pretendia identificar os fatores com maior influência na utilização dos processos concluímos que a experiência do gestor de projeto e a definição de objetivos claros na organização são os fatores que mais contribuem para a execução dos processos e a sua inexistência põe em causa a execução dos processos da gestão de projetos. Com base na informação recolhida no questionário e no seu tratamento estatístico posterior, sugerimos estratégias que pretendem ajudar a desenvolver a aplicação de práticas de gestão e implementação de processos em contexto organizacional.
Why do projects fail? The proper criteria for measuring project success cannot be only the product’s delivering (per the specifications and requirements) but also if it was delivered on time and budget. The project management is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently by using appropriated processes during the project’s lifecycle, which means that there must be an understanding of the factors which effectively contribute to the processes’ implementation. Based on the survey that aimed to identify the critical success factors in project management processes we conclude that managing a succeed project calls for clear objectives and asks for an experienced project manager. Based on the information gathered in the survey and its further statistical analysis, strategies to develop management’s practices and processes’ implementation in an organizational context were proposed.

Most enterprises face difficulties in completing Information Technology projects as initially planned when outsourcing involvement is needed. Each enterprise has its own project management methodology. The unawareness of different processes and activities causes issues during projects as deliver delays. To improve projects smoothness within PepsiCo, the focused company in this thesis, an integrative framework was developed and applied in Information Technologies projects that deal with outsourcing companies within PepsiCo. The result was a framework that helps projects involving third parties with a smoother execution. Framework advantages include project progress facilitation and visual lifecycle comparison representation.

IT enabled business projects are perceived to under-deliver, with between 20% and 35% meeting business expectations.[4] Despite improving IT and Project Management practices over the last 15 years, corresponding improvements in business benefits have not materialised. Research suggests that 21% of expenditure in IT is wasted[35] and based on 2008 BMI data this equates to R 12.0 billion in South Africa[11]. 96% of CEO’s blame this non-performance on their CIO[33]. This research found that most organisations cannot identify the person accountable for benefit realisation and a Benefit Realisation Plan is a rarity. Little literature relating to benefit realisation exists. This research defines a lifecycle for Benefit Realisation and Optimisation. It identifies critical practices that support benefit realisation and defines a skeletal process for managing the lifecycle. Improving ROI by up to ten times[46], significantly reducing business risk, enhanced governance and better resource utilisation are some “benefits” of managing the Benefit Realisation Lifecycle

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação
No departamento de CI-CWR1, da organização Bosch Car Multimédia Portugal, S.A., deteta-se a dificuldade em preservar requisitos de projetos para projetos. Para mitigar isso, é necessário um mecanismo que introduza no ambiente aplicacional a atividade de gestão de requisitos, com a funcionalidade de gerir o ciclo de vida dos requisitos em ciclos de vida de sistemas de informação coexistentes. A gestão de requisitos é uma atividade do processo de engenharia de requisitos que tem a particularidade de auxiliar as demais atividades e incorpora funcionalidades como, rastreabilidade, gestão de mudança, e rastreio de versões e estados de requisitos. Tendo em vista a resolução do problema apresentado nesta dissertação de mestrado, concebese um processo para a engenharia de requisitos otimizado de forma a possuir uma gestão de requisitos eficaz. Um processo apresenta normalmente três constituintes: atividades, papeis e artefactos. As atividades do processo concebido dividem-se por duas componentes. Na componente de development incluem-se sete atividades para se obterem os requisitos de um sistema de informação. A componente de management é constituída por quatro atividades, onde se faz uma gestão dos requisitos inerentes a um sistema de informação, e a gestão do ciclo vida dos requisitos associados ao domínio aplicacional. Em adição identificam-se oito papéis para os atores realizarem as atividades do processo, com recurso a oito artefactos projetados pelo autor ou aproveitados de outras metodologias. Na experimentação do processo são sugeridos dois projetos com características adaptáveis às funcionalidades deste. No projeto “GEIME” faz-se a análise de requisitos, da reabilitação de um sistema de informação para a gestão de calibração de dispositivos, através de duas iterações utilizando a reverse engineering para se levantarem requisitos da versão do sistema obsoleta. No projeto “ALR” fazse a análise de requisitos de um sistema de informação para a avaliação de lotes do processo produtivo Bosch.
In the department of CI-CWR1, of Bosch Car Multimédia Portugal, S.A., the difficulty in preserving requirements between projects can be detected. In order to mitigate this, a mechanism is necessary to introduce in the applicational environment, the management of requirements activity to manage the life cycle of requirements, in life cycles of coexisting information systems. The management of requirements is an activity in the process of requirements engineering which has the special feature of helping the other activities and incorporates features such as traceability, change management and tracking of requirements versions and states. Owing to solve the problem above, in this Master’s thesis, a process for requirements engineering is conceived to optimize an effective management of requirements. A process normally presents three constituents, that is, activities, roles and artifacts. The activities in the conceived process are divided by two components. In the development component, seven activities are included in order to achieve the requirements of an information system. The management component comprises four activities, where the management of the requirements is inherent to an information system and the management of the life cycle of the requirements associated to the application domain are made. In addition, eight roles are identified for the agents to do the activities of the process, using eight artifacts designed by the author or used from other methodologies. In the experiment process, two projects are suggested with characteristics adaptable to its functions. In the ‘GEIME’ project, a requirements analysis of rehabilitation of an information system is made, for the management of the devices calibration, through two iterations using reverse engineering to raise requirements from the obsolete version of the system. In the ‘ALR’ project, the requirements analysis of an information system for the evaluation of the batches in Bosch’s productive process is made.

Desde os primeiros tempos da engenharia de software, investigadores (e praticantes) dedicam-se à análise do processo de desenvolvimento de software, avaliando os seus problemas e possíveis soluções. Vários factores devem ser envolvidos nesta análise, todavia será certamente seguro afirmar que a falta de reutilização de desenvolvimento e a baixa produtividade do processo de construção de uma aplicação, são duas preocupações recorrentes cuja resolução não se tem mostrado simples. Na última década, este contexto tem motivado a comunidade de investigação a analisar o que designam por industrialização do processo de desenvolvimento de software. Esta vertente de investigação defende que várias técnicas industriais podem ser transpostas para o desenvolvimento de software e que a sua aplicação trará enormes benefícios à abordagem tradicional, nomeadamente, potenciará substanciais ganhos de produtividade, diminuição de custos e melhorias de qualidade dos sistemas desenvolvidos. As Software Product Lines são uma materialização desta perspectiva industrializada do processo de desenvolvimento. O fundamento principal desta orientação consiste numa mudança de paradigma de desenvolvimento que substitui o modelo tradicional, focado na construção de uma aplicação específica para um determinado cliente, para a construção de uma infra-estrutura de produção que suporte o desenvolvimento de um leque de sistemas (família de produtos) que sirvam um conjunto de clientes. Segundo os defensores deste novo paradigma, esta visão multi-sistema, permitirá uma reutilização massiva e sistemática de vários componentes entre os elementos da família de produtos, que servirá de base para a optimização do processo de desenvolvimento associada aos ganhos de produtividade, diminuição de custos e melhorias de qualidade pretendidos. Esta dissertação procura sistematizar os conceitos envolvidos nas Software Product Lines através de uma análise abrangente dos princípios teóricos subjacentes e da sua concretização prática através de técnicas e tecnologias existentes. Com base nesta sistematização de conhecimento, propomos um modelo de desenvolvimento baseado em famílias de produtos (SPLUP), cuja aplicabilidade demonstramos através da elaboração de um caso de estudo e construção de protótipo. Complementarmente, foram submetidos dois artigos científicos a conferências científicas (CENTERIS 2011 e CAPSI 2011) que sistematizam as principais conclusões e contribuições do nosso trabalho.
Since the early days of Software Engineering, researchers and practitioners have sought to improve the software development process. The lack of reuse and the low productivity rates are recurring concerns whose resolution has not proved to be simple. Over the last decade, the research community and industry have been studying the industrialization of the software development process. The ideas underlying this perspective are supported by the proposition that several industrial techniques should be compliant with software development, and that its implementation will bring substantial benefits to the traditional approach, namely, considerable productivity gains, costs reductions and quality improvements to the developed systems. Software Product Lines materialize this ―industrialized‖ version of the software development. The main baseline of this approach, consists on the shift from the present model, in which a system is built from a set of needs stated by a single customer, to a model that aims to the construction of a generic production platform that supports the development of a set (family) of systems that covers a related set of customers’ needs. According to the proponents of this theory, the multi-system approach will allow a massive and systematic component reutilization within the family members, which contributes to a considerable process optimization. This thesis attempts to organize the concepts related to Software Product Lines through a comprehensive analysis of the underlying theoretical principles and its practical implementation through existing techniques and technologies. Based on this knowledge, we propose a family-oriented development model (SPLUP), whose applicability is demonstrated by a case study and prototype development. In addition, two papers were submitted (CENTERIS 2011 and CAPSI 2011 conferences) to systematize the main conclusions and contributions of our work.